Exhibit stand



Aug. 13, 1963 G. R. cox 3,100,573

EXHIBIT STAND Filed May 24. 1961 IN VEN TOR.

GEORGE R. COX

United States Patent 3,100,573 EXHIBIT STAND George R. Cox, Bellport,N.Y., assignor to the United States of America as represented by theUnited States Atomic Energy Commission Filed May 24, 1961, Ser. No.112,477 4 Claims. (Cl. 211177) This invention relates to an exhibitstand and more particularly to an exhibit stand in which the parts arereadily and conveniently assembled and disassembled for use, shipment orstorage.

An exhibit stand is a device for supporting material for displaypurposes and may incorporate lighting equipment for directing light onthe display material. A portable exhibit stand is one which may beassembled at the site of the display and after use may be disassembledfor storage or shipment tor use elsewhere or at another time. whendisassembled or else completely unattractive in order to obtain thecharacteristics which are required to make them portable. As a result,it is quite common to construct on site an exhibit stand with theintention of discarding .it after use because of the difiiculties andexpenses frequently found in preserving the apparatus for shipment orlater use.

The present invention embodies in a single exhibit stand many of theadvantages found in both existing portable and permanent exhibit standsas well as other advantages to be described further below. The inventionconcerns a portable exhibit stand of simple construction which is verylight in weight, convenient to assemble and disassemble and readilyshipped or stored as well.

Furthermore, these features-are obtained without sacrificing theimportant esthetic values which generally are desirable in devices ofthis type.

In accordance with the principles of this invention, the exhibit standis composed of a pair of flat units of tubular construction supporting aflat exhibit board which are all integrated into a unitary assembly. Theback side of the exhibit board is provided with structural and bracketmembers which integrate the parts to form a unique exhibit stand inaccordance with this invention.

It is, therefore, a first object of this invention to provide an exhibitstand of simple construction.

Another object of this invention is to provide a lightweight stand forsupporting and exhibiting a display.

Still another object is to provide an exhibit stand which is readilyassembled on site for display purposes and is then disassembled andpackaged for easy transportation and storage.

Other objects and advantages of this invention will hereinafter becomemore evident from the following de scription of preferred embodiments ofthis invention, with reference made to the accompanying drawing inwhich:

FIG. 1 is a isometric view of one preferred embodiment of thisinvention;

FIG. 2 is a expanded view of detail 2 of the stand shown in FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 shows a modification of the stand illustrated in FIG. 1.

Referring to FIG. 1, exhibit stand is seen to consist in partof a pairof similar upright units 12 and '14. Units 12 and 14 each consists of acontinuous metal tube (such as aluminum) with swivel lamps 16 and 17,respectively, at the top end, and are substantially flat, that is,co-planar. The other end of the tube in each unit may be welded in at 18and 19, respectively, to form a sturdy unit with flat bottom poltions 22and 23 extending flush with the floor for support. Vertical struts 24and 25 are welded at both ends Existing portable stands are usuallybulky ice as illustrated to the tubes of units 12 and 14 to support adisplay board 26 which adds rigidity to the assembly as a whole. Displayboard 26 is, a flat, rigid member having displays on the side facinglamps 16 and 17. Four support brackets 28 and a swivel bracket 32 areattached permanently on the back of board 26 as shown. Brackets 28provide the means for attaching board 26 to vertical struts 24 and 25 ofunits 12 and 14. The exploded view in FIG. 2 illustrates thisarrangement. There it will be seen that vertical strut 24, for example,is provided with a threaded screw 34 which has its head exposed to beinserted into the wide portion of a slot 36 in bracket 28. Board 26slides down until the head of screw 34 slips into the upper narrowerportion of slot 36. To mount board 26, therefore, the latter is raisedas shown in FIG. 1 topermit engagement of-all the brackets 28 with theirrespective supporting screws on vertical struts 24 and 25.

A modified invented V-shaped tube or rod 38 forming bracing means isswivelly mounted on bracket 32 in the manner illustrated so that theouter ends thereof are free to be engaged with claws 42 and 43 mountedon units 12 and 14 respectively. Wing nuts 44 and 45 may be used toinsure positive and permanent engagement at these points.

A jig bar 46 is shown in phantom extending between units 12 and 14. Bar46 has spring clips 47 and 48 for engaging with the tubing at thesepoints. One or more jig bars 46 may be used to hold up units 12 and 14during set-up of the display and may be either removed or left in place"after board 26 is secured in place. Electric lead wires 52 and 54 forlight fixtures 16 and 17 extend through the interiors of the tubes, asillustrated, thereby permitting convenient delivery of electric power tolamps 16 and 17. It will be noted that no tools are required for theassembly or disassembly of stand 10. In fact, not even a screw driver isrequired. In shipping exhibit stand 10, board 26- is removed and storedfiat with rod 38 swivelled up against the back of the former. Units 12and 14 are also flat and so may be stored against or adjacent board 26.

In the modified arrangement of FIG. 3, exhibit stand 60 is designed toaccommodate a pair of somewhat narrower display boards 62 and 64. Endunit 60 here is somewhat similar to units 12 and 14 shown in FIG. 1,except that a pair of struts 68 and 72 are welded into place as shown,instead of the single vertical strut 24 or 25. However, boards 62 and 64are mounted on their respective struts in similar fashion, usingbrackets 74 and 76 for this purpose. Bottom display board 61 is providedwith the swivel bracket 78 from which the V- shaped rod 82 is pivoted toextend down to engage claw 84 in the lower portion of unit 60. Thisarrangement permits, with proper use of display material, more materialto be shown in the limited space available and the creation ofthree-dimensional effects.

It will be seen that there has been provided an exhibit stand which isstructurally rigid, portable and convenient to use. While embodying allthe advantagesmentioned above, it yet does not sacrifice materially anyof the esthetic features found in permanent exhibit stands. Whendisassembled, the stand consists of sections which are substantiallyflat so that they may be readily crated and shipped for later use.During assembly, no tools or skills of any type are required. Each standcarries integral therein its own lighting arrangement, and two of thesections, namely the end units, are alike This permits the end units tobe used interchangeably as well as having other advantages which arereadily apparent to those skilled in the art.

While only two preferred embodiments of this invention have beendescribed, obviously, many modifications and variations of the presentinvention are possible in the light of the above teachings. It is,therefore, to be understood that within the scope of the appendedclaims, the invention may :be practiced otherwise than as specificallydescribed.- t

Iclaim:

11. A portable exhibit stand comprising, in combina-, tion, a pair ofspaced upright units, each of said units consisting of a relativelythin, structurally strong con- 7 tinuous element bent substantially in aflat plane to form a lower portion, an intermediate display portion, andan upper, forwardly extending light supporting portion, strut means inthe display portion of each unit attached at the ends thereof to saidunit, display board means extending between said units supported by saidstrut means and having at least one forwardly extending display surfaceand a back surface, and brace means pivoted on said back surface havinga pair of arms extending out each for lockable engagement with one ofsaid upright units for forming therewith a rigid, display structure andfor swinging fiat against said back surfiace [for convenient storagewhen said stand is disassembled.

2. The exhibit stand of claim 1 in which jig means are provided to holdsaid units upright and in proper spatial relationship while said displayboard means is mounted across said units and said brace means is pivotedinto engagement with said units. r Y

3. The exhibit stand of claim 1 in which the displa portion of each unitis provided with at least two interconnecting struts, said display boardmeans consisting of at least two display boards extending between saidunits, and said brace means is pivoted on the back surface of one ofsaid display boards, thereby presenting a display having athree-dimensional efiect.

4. The exhibit stand of claim 1 in which the lower portion of each saidunit has a substantially horizontal section of said element forward fromand immediately below said display board means :to accommodateadditional display material.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,235,284 Carver Mar. 18, 1941 20 2,235,649 Shaw Mar. 18, 1941 2,732,481King Jan. 24, 1956 FOREIGN PATENTS 631,859 Great Britain Nov. 10, 1949

1. A PORTABLE EXHIBIT STAND COMPRISING, IN COMBINATION, A PAIR OF SPACEDUPRIGHT UNITS, EACH OF SAID UNITS CONSISTING OF A RELATIVELY THIN,STRUCTURALLY STRONG CONTINUOUS ELEMENT BENT SUBSTANTIALLY IN A FLATPLANE TO FORM A LOWER PORTION, AN INTERMEDIATE DISPLAY PORTION, AND ANUPPER, FORWARDLY EXTENDING LIGHT SUPPORTING PORTION, STRUT MEANS IN THEDISPLAY PORTION OF EACH UNIT ATTACHED AT THE ENDS THEREOF TO SAID UNIT,DISPLAY BOARD MEANS EXTENDING BETWEEN SAID UNITS SUPPORTED BY SAID STRUTMEANS AND HAVING AT LEAST ONE FORWARDLY EXTENDING DISPLAY SURFACE AND ABACK SURFACE, AND BRACE MEANS PIVOTED ON SAID BACK SURFACE HAVING A PAIROF ARMS EXTENDING OUT EACH FOR LOCKABLE ENGAGEMENT WITH ONE OF SAIDUPRIGHT UNITS FOR FORMING THEREWITH A RIGID, DISPLAY STRUCTURE AND FORSWINGING FLAT AGAINST SAID BACK SURFACE FOR CONVENIENT STORAGE WHEN SAIDSTAND IS DISASSEMBLED.